What to Look for in Outdoor Electrical Enclosures

We’ll help you find an outdoor electrical enclosure that can stand up to both the elements and the test of time.

Outdoor electrical enclosures play a critical role as electronics housings in various industries such as energy, communications and water treatment. Brush up on the major considerations and little details to select an appropriate enclosure for your application. Integra Enclosures thinks your should start here:

“Weatherproof” designation: Whether your enclosures are in the direct sunlight and heat of Southern California, constant rain in the Pacific Northwest or gusty snowfall of the Great Lakes, NEMA enclosures with a “weatherproof” designation offer critical protection for housing contents. All Integra enclosures carry either the 4X or 6P weatherproof designation, meaning they’re specially designed and verified to stand up to the elements.

Wireless communication: If you’ll be adding any type of wireless transmitter to your enclosure, you’ll want to make sure that the transmitter can do its job with as little interference possible from the enclosure itself. Not only do metallic enclosures have the potential to compromise the signal strength whatever is inside, they’re also much more difficult and costly to manipulate for the best orientation of the device inside.

Durability plus Versatility: Beyond simple impact resistance (where polycarbonate beats fiberglass by a wide margin, by the way), consider how easy your enclosure will be for a technician to work with in the field. If space is limited, find an enclosure with mounting options and hinge opening angles that make the most of the space provided. Furthermore, make sure the hinge is easy for a technician to replace in the field.

Special mountings: Sometimes a specialized mounting like pole-mounting may be the right choice for your application. Be sure you’re selecting the right hardware for the job, or you’ll be replacing components sooner than you were hoping for.

Whether your industry is a long-time purchaser of electrical enclosures for outdoor uses or has new needs to protect new technology, we’re happy to walk you through the materials and configurations that will best suit your needs for years to come. Call us at 440-220-5795 or use our online contact us form to share the specifics of your project with us.